Ozzie vs. Joe West

"Because he's a f---ing a--hole, that's what he is. I just went out to ask him ... I wasn't asking about the balk because you're not allowed, anytime you go out there to ask about balk or whatever. The thing I went out to ask him about was why he was embarrassing Buehrle. I'm not going out to argue about the balk because the rule, but I went out to ask him why he's embarrassing Buehrle and he give me one of this [dismissing him with his hands]. When you're a professional and you have to respect the managers, the way we're supposed to respect the umpires, they are supposed to respect back. Obviously they have more power than we have and we have to wear it every time that happens. That's the reason I got tossed. I don't think he has the right and the power to let people know who is the chief on the field. We know he has to control the game, we know he has to control all the s---, but in the meanwhile, I don't think it was the right thing to do, like we balked him while we were on the field. Joe has been like that for a lot of years, and he's always going to be like this. I'm not going to change it, nobody is going to change it, but sometimes he thinks f---ing people pay to watch him f---ing umpire. He's the type of guy that wants to control the game, it's good for the game, and to me one of the best umpires in the game, no doubt. But in the meanwhile, those years are on his shoulders and kind of heavy and showing people who he is. I deserve respect and the players here deserve respect here, too. When you tell the manager to get the f--- off the field, I don't think that's a good way to handle situations. No matter what you say, what you do, how long you talk here, Major League Baseball doesn't do s--- for anything. I'll be waiting for my fine, get 'em the next day.''
"I said why are you embarrassing Buehrle? He said, 'Well Buehrle was doing ...' well, you got two choices, the second choice he has, and he was wrong the first time or the second time, either one was wrong. Because you don't like what Buehrle did the first time you should toss him. You shouldn't embarrass him. That's the way he is.''

Did you see the second one that got Buehrle ejected?

"It's not about balk. It's all different. Buehrle has been doing the same stuff, what? Seven years, eight years? All of a sudden [West] just gets up today and says, 'Well, I'm going to call a balk on Buehrle no matter what.' He's got the right, I don't know if it was a balk or not, you couldn't tell. In the meanwhile, I was kind of upset with the reaction. He thinks he's the s--- in the field. People pay to watch f---ing players play, not to see umpires and managers. I don't see any people say, 'I'm going to see Ozzie Guillen manage or Joe West f---ing umpire.' ''

Here's Joe West's side:

Why the balks?

"He has a couple of really good moves and those two were both balks, so I called them."

Ozzie said he was more upset that you were embarrassing Mark:

"He didn't say that to me. I don't know what he's talking about. Ozzie came out because Buehrle was making gestures on the mound that could have got him kicked out so he was protecting Buehrle, that's all he was doing. I don't have a problem with that."

In any other sport, you rip the officials, you get fined. So where's Ozzie's fine? Seeing the way the idiots at MLB have handled the steroid issue, I'm not surprised. Major League Baseball is run by morons, and you can see why the sport is dying.

Ozzie is the best manager in baseball. He protects his players and doesn't cater to anyone. He has the heart that so many pro athletes/coaches/managers have lost. Go Ozzie! And, that second one was not a balk. Country Joe needs to work on his music, because he's surely lost his eyesight.

Joe West is a disgrace to the blue uniform. The umpire's have a right to control the game, they have to, but he has for years handled many situations, notably some with the White Sox, very poorly. Ozzie knows he will get fined for his rip but someone had to do it. Get Joe West's ass off of the ball field for good.

What a joke Joe West is. I believe shouldn't even know the names of umpires - they should be that invisible. But he wears his "West Vest" hanging out of his jacket when behind the plate like he is a brand name or something. Give me a break. Throw him out.

Ozzie is a hothead, but what he is saying makes sense. The umpires have been made king of the field. They have to be accountable to a higher standard. I wish MLB would move to an electronic strike zone. They escalate and bait the players in to arguing. It is always the player/manager who look bad in these situations. It seems like there is a set of umpires routinely involved in the escalations.

While I believe in the keeping of an oldschool style umpiring system (i.e. no auto strike zone, no speeding up the game) because Baseball's hitting and pitching styles have always been built on playing the Umps and such to your advantage, I believe there should be inquiries and investigations into conflicts with Umpires such as Joe West.

While the second balk might appear reasonable in the eyes of any Cleveland fan (and I might even give it to them. His knee did go up and back far enough that it appeared to be a traditional wind-up pitch), the first was clearly a legal pick-off maneuver and West was entirely in the wrong, not only for calling the balk (though it really didn't matter) but for waiving Ozzie off the field like he was some random fan. A great part of Baseball is a managers ability to come out and consult with the Ump. Ozzie's original demeanor was calm and collect, and had it not been for West's god complex on the field, the whole tossing could have been averted. As far as I'm concerned, Joe West should be fined for robbing Buehrle of what appeared to be a beautiful game in the making.

Joe West has had some problems lately and he must have something against the White Sox because he purposely makes bad calls against us all the time. Either that or he just likes arguing with Ozzie. Ozzie does a good job protecting his players and everyone who is not a Sox fan seems to not like him. They just don't realize that he is a great manager and supports his players like a manager should. Go Ozzie